UBVRI photometry and polarimetry of the young eclipsing binary EK Cep

Multicolor photometric and polarimetric observations of the eclipsing binary EK Cep at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in 1995 and 2006–2007 are reported. Polarimetric observations were made of stars in the neighborhood of EK Cep. It is shown that the observed linear polarization of EK Cep is determined by a variable circumstellar constituent, as well as by the interstellar component. Various possible mechanisms for formation of the intrinsic polarization of binary stars are discussed. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 117–126 (February 2009).